Soon after that, he enlisted as a soldier, where he acquainted with bad associates and started his career as a housebreaker.

He showed little concern over his sentence until his execution was ordered on the Christmas Eve of the same year.

Some attempted to tug at his legs to shorten his suffering, while others held them up for the mere possibility that Smith would not die.

[3] When asked what his feelings were during the execution, Smith replied:[2] I remember a great pain caused by the weight of my body.

When I was cut down I got such pins-and-needles pains in my head that I could have hanged the people who set me free.Smith was granted freedom a few months later, on 20 February 1706.

He then lodged an appeal to Sir John Eyles Knight, the Lord Mayor, requesting for physical punishment in lieu of transportation.

In spite of his physical disabilities and role as a father of two children, the court took no pity on him and he was taken to Virginia on the Susannah.